Archives

American Jewish Historical Society ArchivesThe AJHS has a small collection of holdings: the institutional records of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York, 1909-2004; the archive of the American Soviet Jewry movement (circa 1960s - 1991); a database of American Jewish Portraits... Perhaps most useful, however, is a Portal that functions as a "one-stop" gateway for information on American Jewish history, aggregating the records of a number of historical societies, digital collections, and archives throughout the country.

Anthology Film ArchivesOpened in 1970 to showcase the Essential Cinema Repertory collection, Anthology has grown far beyond its original concept to encompass film and video preservation; the formation of a reference library containing the world’s largest collection of books, periodicals, stills, and other paper materials related to avant-garde cinema; and a remarkably innovative and eclectic film exhibition program. The organization screens more than 900 programs annually, preserves an average of 25 films per year (with 900 works preserved to date), publishes books and DVDs, and hosts numerous scholars and researchers.

ARChive of Contemporary MusicA non-profit music library and research center founded in 1985 with more than 3 million sound recordings from 1950 to the present, books, magazines, videos, films, photographs, press kits, newspapers clippings, memorabilia and ephemera relating to the history of popular music. Partnered with Columbia University since 2009.

Archives of the Puerto Rican Diaspora Established to "identify, collect, preserve and make available primary sources that document the Puerto Rican community in NYC." Holdings include personal papers, photos, organizational records and oral histories, among other things. Bulk of documents are Puerto Rican-oriented, but some records are on Cubans, Dominicans, Mexicans, too. 3,744 linear feet. Records are from 1898 to 1992.

Archivists Roundtable of Metropolitan New YorkFounded in 1979, A.R.T. is a non-profit representing more than 650 archivists, librarians, and records managers in the metropolitan area. It is one of the largest local organizations of its kind in the United States, representing more than 160 repositories.

Barnard Archives and Special CollectionsThe final repository for the historical records of Barnard College, from its founding in 1889 to the present. BASC is also building a Special Collection of materials related to issues of feminism; Women’s, Sexuality, and Gender Studies; the history of the education of women and female-identified individuals in the United States; and the history of dance.

Beyond Mannahatta: The Welikia ProjectAfter a decade of research, the Mannahatta Project at the Wildlife Conservation Society un-covered the original ecology of Manhattan. The Welikia Project goes beyond Mannahatta to encompass the entire city, discover its original ecology and compare it to what we have today. Bronx African-American History ProjectFounded in the spring of 2002 in collaboration with the Bronx County Historical Society, the BAAHP has conducted over 300 full length interviews with African-American political leaders, educators, musicians, social workers, business people, clergy, athletes and leaders of community organizations who have lived and worked in the Bronx since the late 1930s, along with a small number of their Latino and white neighbors and co-workers. The collection documents the mass migration of African Americans and West Indians from Harlem to the Bronx in the 1930-50s and the emergence of large black communities in the Morrisania and Hunts Point; the growth of multiethnic musical cultures; the founding and growth of churches, political clubs and civil rights organizations; the role of public schools and community centers in guiding and mentoring Bronx youth before and after the arson wave; the role of community activism, hip hop culture, and West Indian and African migration in revitalizing once devastated Bronx neighborhoods; and many other subjects.

Brooklyn Historical Society Library & ArchivesFounded in 1863 as the Long Island Historical Society, the BHS-precursor's mission was to discover, procure, and preserve materials related to general history, especially the natural, civil, literary, and ecclesiastical history of the United States, the State of New York, and more particularly of the counties, towns, and villages of Long Island. By the mid-20th century, it had narrowed the focus of the collections and began to seek out materials specifically relating to what is today known as Brooklyn. Today, the Library & Archives is a nationally recognized repository comprised of physical and born-digital collections, including manuscripts, personal and family papers, business records, newspapers and other periodicals, books and pamphlets, maps and atlases, artifacts, paintings, photographs, films, oral histories, and genealogies.

Center for Jewish History ArchivesArchive and library collections consist of 500,000 volumes in multiple languages (e.g., Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, German, Polish, French) from many time periods, as well as over 100 million documents, including organizational records and personal papers, photographs, multimedia recordings, posters, art and artifacts.

City Limits Archives (digital)Founded after the fiscal crisis, this magazine has won numerous awards for its investigative journalism. Thanks to a grant from the New York Community Trust, its archive is also digital and free. The collection includes some of NYC's most recognized leaders.

Columbia University ArchivesThe Avery Library, Department of Drawings & Archivesconsists primarily of drawings and architectural records by American architects of the 19th and 20th centuries. We hold a diverse range of original and reprographic drawings, photographic materials, project and building files, business papers, correspondence, diaries, scrapbooks, and faculty and personal papers. TheBurke Library Archives at Union Theological Seminary consist of over 300 separate collections of personal papers and institutional records covering a broad range of themes of interest to the researcher. The Archives reflect the Seminary's leadership in social issues, religious morals and theological thought. The University Archives preserve the institution's history. The Rare Books & Manuscript Libraryis Columbia’s main repository for primary sources. The range of collections span 4,000 years and comprise some 500,000 printed books and 14 miles of manuscripts, personal papers, and records. One can find literary manuscripts from the 14th century to the papers of Herman Wouk and Erica Jong, and archives as varied as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Random House, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International-USA. The history of printing, graphic arts, and the performing arts are strengths.

Digital Harlem: Everyday Life 1915-1930 (digital) Employs digital technology to integrate a range of sources - the case files of the Manhattan District Attorney, probation files, prison records, undercover investigations, social surveys, census schedules and the two major newspapers published in Harlem, The New York Age and The New York Amsterdam News - to visualize and explore the spatial dimensions of everyday life in Harlem during its heyday.

Ellis Island Records (digital) Among other things, visitors can search the online records for all entries at Ellis Island between 1892-1924, more than 51 million.

Episcopal Diocese of New York ArchiveDocuments related to the history of the religious organization and its many parishes, as well as the historical and architectural records of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.

Fales Library (NYU)355,000 volumes of books and other printed items, 11,000 linear feet of archive and manuscript materials, and 90,000 media elements. Includes rare books and manuscripts in English and American literature, the Downtown Book Collection (documenting the arts scene that in SoHo and the Lower East Side from the 1970s-90s), the Riot Grrrl Collection, and Marion Nestle's Food & Cookery Collection, which includes 12,000 volumes and 5,000 pamphlets from Cecily Brownstone's private collection and over 55,000 cookbooks, documenting the evolution of cuisine and food practices in 20th century America, with a focus on NYC.

LaGuardia and Wagner ArchivesEstablished in 1982 to collect, preserve, and make available primary materials documenting the social and political history of NYC. The Archives serves a broad array of researchers, journalists, students, scholars, exhibit planners and policy makers. And holds the personal papers and official documents of Mayors Fiorello H. LaGuardia, Robert F. Wagner, Abraham D. Beame and Edward I. Koch, the records of the New York City Housing Authority, the piano maker Steinway & Sons, The New York City Council and a Queens Local History Collection.

LGBT Community Center National History Archive Founded in 1990 by volunteer archivist Rich Wandel, the archive provides a look into the lives and experiences of LGBT people throughout the years. The Archive contains a wide range of media from as early as 1920, including photos, correspondence, news clippings, radio, video, and personal journals.

Leo Baeck Institute ArchivesPreserves family papers, community histories, personal correspondence, genealogical materials, and business and public records that touch upon virtually every aspect of the German-Jewish experience, "the foremost repository of collective memory for Central European Jewry... [and] key aspects of Europe’s modern social and intellectual development." Includes 2000 memoirs from 1790 to the post-WWII era. The vast majority of LBI’s archival collections have been digitized.

Margaret Sanger Papers ProjectA non-profit hosted by NYU, formed by Esther Katz in 1985 to locate, arrange, edit, research, and publish the papers of the noted birth control pioneer. The project has a microform edition, and is working on a four-volume book. There is a blog on the homepage.

Metropolitan Opera ArchiveThe MetOpera Database is updated five days a week during the opera season. Casts of the previous evenings performance, or the previous weekends, should be current by 11:00 am Eastern Time the next day.

Museum of the City of New York ArchivesCurrently in the midst of a long term project to provide increased access to all of its holdings. Digitization began in 2008, starting with the vast collections of photographs, prints, and other works on paper depicting the changing city over time.

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) ArchiveEstablished in 1989 to organize, preserve, and make accessible records relevant to the Museum's history (minutes, committee reports, departmental papers, photographs, sound recordings, and videotapes); personal papers of curators and directors; papers of individuals related to Museum interests, such as Trustees and former staff; oral histories; twentieth-century primary resource material, including papers, manuscripts, and photographs; and a photographic archive comprised of tens of thousands of images.

National Archives at NYC The Northeast branch of the United States Archives. Holds archival records from federal agencies and courts in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

New York City Ballet ArchivesCreated by Lincoln Kerstein in 1999. Contains a range of documents, photographs, and videotapes, costumes, musical scores, and scenic designs, correspondence and original print media. Limited public access to scholars, students, and professionals in the field of dance. A vast amount of work remains to be accomplished, but the Archives has a rich and comprehensive trove of dance treasures, including the Ballet Society Collection, New York City Ballet Collection, School of American Ballet Collection, George Balanchine Trust Collection, and Tanaquil Le Clercq's Personal Archive.

New York City Parks Department Photo ArchiveA repository of more than 200,000 images created by the Department from 1856 to the present. The majority were taken after 1933, and the collection is especially strong in representing the era when Robert Moses was Parks Commissioner (1934–1960).

New York County Clerk RecordsThe Clerk is responsible for receiving papers initiating actions and special proceedings and maintaining the official case files of the New York County Supreme Court, which contain all papers filed with the court in each case. Anyone who wishes to do so may examine the case files. However, by law the files in all matrimonial cases are confidential and are available only to the parties in the case or their attorneys, and by law a Justice of the court may, upon an adequate showing of certain circumstances (e.g., where trade secrets are involved), order that a file in a particular case be sealed in whole or in part or that a portion of the file be impounded by the County Clerk.

New York Public LibraryThe Manuscripts and Archives holdings date from the third century to the 1990s: cuneiform tablets, medieval manuscripts, and renaissance material. Its real strength, however, are the papers of individuals and families, and political and social organizations, from the New York region in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. This is a very cursory and incomplete representation of what is available.

New York Public Radio ArchivesDirected by Andy Lanset, this department of WNYC provides a repository for thousands of audio recordings, photographs, memorabilia, reports, news items, program guides, institutional records, and promotional materials. Among its holdings are more than 50,000 recordings in a variety of formats, from early lacquer and acetate discs, to reel-to-reel tapes, to digital audio tapes and compact discs.

New York Transit Museum ArchivesCollects and preserves materials about the region's land-based public transportation systems, past and present. Over 10,000 photographs, posters, maps, and artifacts from the museum’s collection can now be viewed online.

Office for Metropolitan HistoryThe Office locates historic photographs, original architectural, structural and mechanical drawings, and data on use and occupancy for engineers, architects, lawyers and anyone interested in the evolution of New York's built environment. It maintains a collection of 40,000 4x5 film negatives, 18,000 photographs, and 8,000 architectural drawings, many of which date back to the late 19th century.

September 11 Digital ArchiveMore than 150,000 digital items, a tally that includes more than 40,000 emails and other electronic communications, more than 40,000 first-hand stories, and more than 15,000 digital images. In September 2003, the Library of Congress accepted the Archive into its collections, the library's first major digital acquisition.

Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor ArchivesA center for research on labor history and the history of socialist, anarchist, communist and other radical political movements. Also Utopian experiments, women's movements, civil rights and civil liberties. Focused, but not limited to U.S. since 1865. The Wagner archives include historically significant non-current records of NYC's labor organizations since 1977. There are also non-print collections, oral history collections, and various exhibits and programs.

Weill Cornell Medical College/Center ArchivesApproximately 150 collections of personal papers and manuscripts from individual physicians, faculty, nurses, students, and administrators who have been associated with the medical center. Included are the early cytology slides prepared by Dr. George N. Papanicolaou, developer of the "Pap" smear; the papers of Dr. Vincent du Vigneaud, the 1955 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, including his research notes scribbled on napkins and correspondence with other Nobel winners; Walsh McDermott's reports on a program for improving the health of the Navajo at Many Farms, Arizona; the diaries of Major Julia C. Stimson, head of the Army Nurses Corp during World War I; David Rogers chronicle of the AIDS crisis, and the response of government and the medical community; and Benjamin Harrison Kean's papers on the field of tropical medicine and parasitolgy. The Archives also hold patient medical records from New York Hospital, Bloomingdale Asylum/Hospital, Lying-In Hospital of the City of New York, and several other institutions; (there are restrictions on the use of these records).

Libraries

American Craft Council LibraryThe ACC Library collects materials on contemporary American craft. It also holds the archives of the ACC, which operated the American Craft Museum until 1990. The ACC's founder, Aileen Osburn Webb, was instrumental in the development of the contemporary American Craft movement.

Bard Graduate Center LibraryThe Bard Graduate Center Library is a non-circulating research collection supporting advanced studies in the decorative arts, design, garden history, landscape studies and culture. The Library's collection comprises approximately 40,000 volumes, including rare books, microforms, and videos. In addition, the Library subscribes to more than 250 periodicals and provides on-line access to numerous subscription databases: periodical indexes and other research tools.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden LibraryProvides reference services to home gardeners, staff, and the professional horticultural community. A convenient access point from which to learn more about all of the Library's collections and about the Garden's plant collections. The Library is located on the second floor of the historic McKim, Mead & White Administration Building. Members may borrow one or two books for up to two weeks.

Brooklyn Public LibraryNumerous branch libraries throughout Brooklyn, many of which offer special collections, educational programs, discussions and exhibitions. The Central Branch is home to the Archives and The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, online and print.

Center for FictionFounded in 1820 as the Mercantile Library, the Center is "the only organization in the United States devoted solely to the vital art of fiction." Their collection includes over 85,000 classic and contemporary fiction titles and related nonfiction, literary journals, newspapers, and magazines.

Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic LibraryOver 60,000 volumes detailing Masonic history, origins, philosophy, symbolism, current events, esoterica and occultism; historical files for every Lodge, Chapter, Council, Commandery and Valley in New York State; extensive holdings of Masonic periodicals from all over the United States and the world, from the 1700s to the present , including a large collection of Shrine publications; subject files containing articles, essays, speeches and studies on numerous topics relating to Freemasonry; biographical files on Masons known for their achievements both within the Craft and in wider historical contexts; extensive collections of Masonic memorabilia, ritual artifacts, jewlery, aprons and other textile artifacts, artwork, engravings, paintings, and collections gathered by Past Grand Masters of New York; rotating exhibits in the Reading Room of Masonic memorabilia and ephemera.

Columbia University LibrariesColumbia's 25 Libraries, with 9.5 million volumes, 117,264 current serials, and an extensive collection of electronic resources, manuscripts, rare books, microforms, and other nonprint formats, ranks as one of the top ten academic library systems in the nation.

Greenacre Reference LibraryPreviously known as The Information Exchange, this is the research library of the Municipal Art Society of New York. Established in 1978, the library is devoted to the complex ecology of New York City and beyond, urban culture and the environment, natural and built. The collection contains approximately 3,000 books and reports along with 2,000 archival publications and ephemera produced by MAS over the course of its history. In addition, hundreds of files containing thousands of clippings, brochures, reports, and other materials from the journalistic record are available for review by request.

The Grolier ClubThe founders originally intended the Library to be a working reference collection of standard bibliographical works and books relating to the art of printing. It is still so used, although the scope of the Library has grown in succeeding decades. In addition to current works, the collection includes many rare and early bibliographies. The Grolier Club is also preeminent among libraries documenting the buying, selling and collecting of books, and the Library's research core is a collection of over sixty thousand bookseller and book auction catalogues, perhaps the largest (and certainly the most accessible) archive in America of this notoriously rare and ephemeral material.

Horticulture Society of New York LibraryThe General Collection provides a broad range of reading materials for gardeners and others curious about plants and gardens. The Botanical Illustration Collection, housed in the conference room for browsing, offers finely illustrated historical and contemporary works on wild and cultivated plants. The American Landscape History Collection supports research on the unique American approach to garden and landscape design with exceptional texts and periodicals produced during the creative period of 1890–1940. The History of American Horticulture Collection includes many practical books and magazines available to gardeners from the 1850's to the 1950's.

Maritime College Stephen B. Luce Library (SUNY)The library's holdings of print books contain over 80,000 volumes with special strength in marine engineering, maritime history, naval architecture, marine transportation, oceanography, transportation economics, and management. In addition, the library has access to approximately 20,000 electronic books to support the academic program. The Library also holds many archival collections, including those of Sailors' Snug Harbor and the Marine Society of New York.

Mertz Library at the New York Botanical GardenFounded in 1899, the Mertz Library has evolved to become one of the largest, most comprehensive botanical libraries in the world and is a treasury of knowledge about all aspects of the plant world.

Mina Rees Library, The Graduate Center, CUNYOver 305,000 print volumes, 555,00 microforms, and 8,258 electronic and print serial subscriptions, with a focus on the humanities and social sciences; materials that support course requirements and preparation for qualifying examinations at The Graduate Center, CUNY's principal doctorate-granting institution.

Morgan Library & MuseumLocated in midtown Manhattan at Madison Avenue and 36th Street, the Morgan houses one of the world's greatest collections of illuminated manuscripts, books and bindings, prints and drawings, historical documents, music, and objects d'art from the ancient, medieval, and Renaissance periods to the present. The former private library of Pierpont Morgan and J. P. Morgan, it includes various collections on New York as well.

Museum of Modern Art LibraryA comprehensive collection devoted to modern and contemporary art. The noncirculating collection documents painting, sculpture, drawings, prints, photography, architecture, design, performance, video, film, and emerging art forms from 1880 to the present. The Library's holdings include approximately 300,000 books and exhibition catalogs, over 1,000 periodical titles, and over 40,000 files of ephemera about individual artists and groups.

New York City Department of Records Municipal LibraryThe statutory depository for all official reports and studies done by government agencies. Includes publications from the 19th century; biographical files about local officials; executive orders, local laws, and city charters.

New York Public LibraryEighty-five neighborhood locations in Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan, and four research locations, along with numerous archives and special collections.

New York Society LibraryThe oldest library in the city, founded in 1754 by a civic-minded group that believed the availability of books would help the city prosper. A subscription library, it now contains nearly three hundred thousand volumes -- the result of the tastes of its members over almost the last quarter millennium. Although primarily a library for the general reader, it has considerable potential for research: among its gems, the Society's first ledger, an invaluable window into the reading habits of over 500 18th-century Library members, including many of our nation's founders, digitized from 1789-92, and currently being expanded to the years 1799-1805; plus, a large collection on New York City.

Old York LibraryContains a unique assemblage of books, maps, images, newspaper, and memorabilia of New York City. The collection, found in the 1960s by Seymour Durst, chronicles the history, geography, architecture, culture, politics, and many other aspects that tell the story of NYC.

St. Johns University LibrariesThe main library is at the Queens campus, also home to the Asian Library and the Rittenberg Law Library. The Staten Island campus is served by the Loretto Memorial Library. (Materials can be be loaned between the two.) The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Library at the Manhattan campus contains one of the world's largest collections on insurance, risk management and actuarial science, serving the school of risk management as well as members of the insurance industry.

​The Gotham Center for New York City HistoryThe Graduate Center, City University of New York365 Fifth Avenue, Room 6103New York, NY 10016(212) 817 8460 GothamCenter@gc.cuny.edu

We are proud and grateful to acknowledge the support ofThe Graduate Center, City University of New York, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice